My kids started distance learning this week. Let me be crystal clear when I say I AM NOT CUT OUT TO BE A TEACHER! I know I am not alone in this sentiment! There are thousands of parents out there in the same shoes I’m in right now. We are all navigating this new land of helping our kids stay on track and trying to make up for the time missed last semester. And I’m sure many of you have children in multiple grades and trying to navigate that has got to be difficult.
My son is a first grader and he has high functioning autism. So I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, that if I’m not cut out to be a teacher, there is no way in hell I was meant to be a special ed. teacher. I’m a hair dresser so if you are wanting a bomb ass haircut or color, I got you. I don’t know the intricacies of helping a neurodiverse child along though a school day. So to say that there have been difficulties this weeks are a total given. I realize we are going to have to face this battle daily for the rest of the school year, but at least I am here with him working right along with him every step of the way. I feel very lucky to be able to be here with both my kids during the day. I have the luxury of making my own schedule and I make sure that school time is the first thing in the morning after breakfast. This is my attempt to imitate his old school routine. I’ve noticed that it really helps him. I’ve also tried to incorporate many small breaks throughout his assigned tasks.
So I know I could make my life a little easier and let my three year old daughter skip pre-k this year. I know many, many kids don’t start pre-k at 3. But I feel like I should at least try to do my best to make their education the same. As much as I can anyway. My son began pre-k at 3 and he was able to go to the school building and was taught by the most amazing teacher, aid, and parent volunteers. I cannot expect to replicate that environment, but I can at the very least work with her on things that will prepare her to go to kindergarten. I sincerely hope that she is able to go to the building for kindergarten when that day comes. Honestly I hope they will be able to safely go to the building next year and she can get at least one year of amazing pre-k.
So my early mornings are spent swapping back and forth between children. I have set our playroom up to look as much like a classroom as I can. I have set rules in place during “school time” to try and replicate the structure that school gives. My son thrives on structure. I chose the playroom because we don’t have a tv in this room and it greatly takes away distraction. I begin each morning getting my son logged into the digital academy and started on his tasks. I work with him until we get to a task that he needs to complete independently. While he works on his assignments, I take that time to work with his sister on small tasks.
For my daughter I did a lot of Pinterest searching. I found a few home school curriculums, and a sheet that shows what is expected of children who are entering kindergarten. I then printed out various work sheets and coloring sheets for her. I also made dry erase activities, as well as giving her, her own mini chalk board to work with. My greatest issues working with my daughter is how short a three year old attention span is. I swear it’s nearly non existent! So for now, if she isn’t interested in something after a few tries I put it back in her folder to try at another time and move on. I don’t know if this is how real teachers do this, but it’s the best I got! (ha!)
This was my experience and I know many of you have different experiences. I would love to hear from you about your experiences. And to all the parents, I sincerely congratulate you! No matter how the school year looks for you and your family this year; we have made it this far! And I know we will make this year the best we possibly can for our children! Kudos to you!
Stay safe, stay rad, and wash your DANG hands!
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